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Your thesis on addiction? Written by your dad, the kingpin. Awkward.

Al-Dabah (1987)

melodramatic soap80s Cairo gritclass warfare

Overview

Drama

(Nesma), the daughter of the wealthy merchant (Hamed El-Ganzouri), is preparing a master's thesis on drug addiction, and she does not know that her father is a major drug dealer. (Zaher) helps him in his business until he becomes rich. (Nesma) falls in love with (Medhat), a medical student who is struggling in his studies because of his poverty, which makes him surrender to drug addiction. At the same time, (Zaher) admires (Nesma) and tries to marry her, but (Hamed) refuses and makes fun of him, so (Zaher) leaves his job and tries to expose him in front of his daughter and report him to the police.

Flag of EGEGArabic

Standout Aspects

Acting

Farid Shawqy's patriarchal menace—charming then terrifying.

Direction

Niazi Mostafa frames Cairo's class divide like a moral accusation.

Best for:Solo: When you want to suffer beautifully in 80s Egyptian aesthetics.·Streaming: Late night melancholy with subtitles and strong coffee.
Heads up:Drug Use: Addiction depicted graphically; several overdose scenes.·Violence: Police raids and implied torture in third act.
Niazi Mostafa

Director

Niazi Mostafa

ReleasedMar 9, 1987
Runtime2h 25m
StatusReleased

Vibe

Paceslow
Intensitymedium
Tonedark
Feelheavy

Top Cast

Farid Shawqy

Farid Shawqy

Hamed El-Ganzouri

Athar ElHakim

Athar ElHakim

Neamaa

Yousuf Shaaban

Yousuf Shaaban

Zaher

Sameh El-Sereety

Sameh El-Sereety

Medhat

Saeeda Galal

Saeeda Galal

Tarik Al-Nahry

Tarik Al-Nahry

Fouad Khalil

Fouad Khalil

El-Fangary

Mona Ismail

Mona Ismail

Sanaa

Omran Bahr

Omran Bahr

Tawfiq Al Kurdi

Tawfiq Al Kurdi

Motawie Eweiss

Motawie Eweiss

Samir Rostom

Samir Rostom

Ask about Al-Dabah

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Deep Dive

Trivia, insights & behind the scenes

Cultural

Released during Egypt's 1980s economic 'opening,' the film weaponizes melodrama to criticize nouveau riche corruption that flourished under Sadat's policies.

Trivia

Farid Shawqy reportedly refused to shower for three days before filming Hamed's final arrest scene to capture authentic desperation.

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